Now if you consider yourself a Jew, that title is likely to offend you immediately. If you can get this far I hope you understand that it is NOT my intention to offend anyone. My Christian Bible (the New Testament) instructs me:

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 NIV

31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God- 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

The older King James translation of the Bible does not use the word "stumble", in verse 31 it uses the word "offence" and says:

1 Corinthians 10:32 KJV

32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

Now having acknowledged that Christians are told NOT to offend, the Christian Bible also says this:

Galatians 5:11 NIV

11 In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

Jesus himself, during his short 3 year personal ministry offended many, in particular many Jewish religious leaders.

Mark 6:1-3 NIV

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

So here is the dilemma for people like me who are Christians. We are told NOT to offend, but we are also told to tell the story of Jesus Christ (Christ means Messiah) and the cross and that story is offensive. And Christians know the story is offensive because the Bible says so, and Christians will know it personally if they have made any effort to tell that story to those who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah (Savior).

Why is the story of the cross offensive? I cannot do a better job explaining that than Billy Graham did in 1991. Here was his sermon on "The Offense of the Cross". I would encourage you to watch it, it was a VERY good sermon.

A Google search of the phrase "the offence of the cross" turned up this "AI Overview":

I began this verbal excursion with a title that says Christmas is a Jewish story and it is. Jesus was a Jew born to a mother who was a Jew. There are two genealogies for Jesus in the Christian Bible, one for Mary (the mother of Jesus) and one for his step father Joseph. Mary's genealogy is found here:

If you read through that passage you will find in verse 31 that Mary was a descendant of King David through David's son Nathan.

By contrast if you read the genealogy of Joseph, Mary's husband:

You will find in verse 6 and 7 that Joseph descended from King David's son Solomon.

The Bible often refers to Jesus as the "son of David", and points to his descent from King David. It does not get much more Jewish that. Therefore, there can be no reasonable dispute that Jesus is and was a Jew. The story of Christmas is the story of the birth of Jesus.

The story of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, is told to us in the Christian New Testament which is a book that was completely and totally authored by Jews. All of the early followers and forefathers of Christianity were Jews. For the first 10 years of the story of the church, following the death of Jesus, everyone involved was a Jew. Actually, the spread of the Christian religion to the gentiles was something of a scandal in the early church. It makes for VERY interesting reading in the book of Acts which is a history of the early church written by a Jewish physician named Luke. The story of the spread of Christianity to the Gentiles begins in Acts chapter 10:

To summarize, the story of Christmas is the story of the birth of a Jewish man named Jesus, told in a book written by Jews.

And I would conclude with this final observation. The early Jewish members of the church were not particularly focused on the story of the birth of Jesus. They were focused on telling the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It's why I have said many times, that while Christmas seems to those on the outside of Christianity the biggest Christian holiday, in truth it is the celebration of Easter (which coincides with the Jewish Passover) that is the heart and soul of the Christian story. And, it is the death and resurrection of Jesus which are the most offensive aspects of Christianity.

But now even Christmas has become offensive to many. And Jews should have some sympathy as it is becoming more and more offensive to be a Jew. We live in a world VERY easily offended which makes it hard to convey the good wishes that are intended when anyone like myself says "Merry Christmas".

Let me conclude by saying Merry Christmas to everyone, everywhere, because Jesus came so that ALL men might have a means of salvation, even those offended by the very notion that they need salvation.